Demos' field goal allows Northwestern to hold off Indiana 20-17

QB Persa suffers apparent concussion late but does enough beforehand to boost Wildcats

October 30, 2010|By Teddy Greenstein, Tribune reporter

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — One by one, they tapped the blackboard.

As Northwestern's jubilant players left the field after their 20-17 victory over Indiana, they stopped to touch the object that carries their trademark message: "TRUST YOURSELF."

It was becoming hard to trust the Wildcats after they blew late leads to Purdue and Michigan State.

"A team can go in one or two directions after … two bad losses," linebacker Bryce McNaul said. "It's fight or flight."

The Wildcats (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten) did have to fight for this victory that all but guaranteed them a bowl trip.

The biggest challenge came when Dan Persa, the team's best passer and runner, suffered an apparent concussion with about eight minutes to play. After gaining 3 yards on a rush, Persa went down in a heap of red jerseys.

He grabbed his face mask, stood and had an eye-to-eye chat with NU trainer Tory Lindley. Persa walked off the field after about two minutes.

"They said he was a little woozy," coach Pat Fitzgerald said, "and they were going to hold him out for precautionary measures."

Evan Watkins, a redshirt freshman from Glenbard North, stepped into a thorny situation: third-and-8 at the Indiana 40 with Northwestern leading 17-10.

"It's my job to be prepared to step in at any point," said Watkins, who missed NU's last practice Thursday with an illness.

Asked if he had been given ample time to warm up, Watkins replied: "I had enough, you know?"

Watkins followed the play call by rolling left and firing a strike to Jeremy Ebert for a 13-yard gain. Three plays later, Fitzgerald sent out Stefan Demos to attempt a 45-yard field goal into the wind. Demos had told him he would be good from 48.

The kick hung in the air for decades, it seemed, before clearing the crossbar.

"Really, that was the difference in the game," said Indiana coach Bill Lynch, noting Hoosiers kicker Mitch Ewald had missed from 40.

Demos took flak from fans after he missed 2 of 3 attempts against Purdue, giving some the impression he had not recovered from flubbing an extra point and game-winning try in the Outback Bowl.

"I've matured a lot going through all I did last year," he said. "After a make, it's over. After a miss, it's over."

McNaul called it "affecting the quarterback … if that meant getting a hand in his face or hitting him on a blitz, we wanted to do that."

Persa, as usual, avoided a slew of big hits with his Houdini-like scrambling. His first touchdown pass to Ebert came after he reversed field and fired a perfect strike on the run. His second came on an over-the-defender chuck of 30 yards.

Northwestern probably won't announce Persa's status for next week until Monday, but Ebert said after the game Persa seemed himself. Intense, as always.